Mavis Staples will host an 85th birthday concert befitting of the legendary soul singer on April 18th at the YouTube Theater in Inglewood, CA, featuring an all-star lineup of artists from throughout the music world. Among the top performers on the varied lineup are Chris Stapleton, Nathaniel Rateliff, Jackson Browne, and many more.
The diverse lineup for Staples’ birthday concert shows just how much impact she has had on music over her illustrious career, which began when she was 11 and joined her family’s The Staples Singer group. Also set to perform are Black Pumas, Grace Potter, Hozier, Jeff Tweedy, Michael McDonald, The War and Treaty, Keb’ Mo’, Norah Jones, Taj Mahal, and Robert Randolph, with more to be announced. Staples herself will also take the stage at the show.
Staples will turn 85 on July 10th and continues to serve as a force in soul, R&B, and gospel music. Her career began all the way back in 1950 in her family band, and in 1969 she made her solo debut with her self-titled album. Over the decades she has been inducted into both the Blues Hall of Fame and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, won three Grammys as well as the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (as a member of The Staples Singers), was honored at the Kennedy Center, and much more. In addition to her distinguished musical career, she has also been a lifelong civil rights activist, marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and performed at John F. Kennedy‘s presidential inauguration and at the White House for President Barack Obama.
“At the end of last year, I was talking about retiring,” Staples said in a statement. “But after sitting with it for a while, I stopped myself and thought, ‘Well what would I do?’ I asked the Lord, ‘Why am I still here? What do you want of me? Have you kept me around for a reason?’ And the only reason I could see is to sing my songs. That’s why I’m still here, and I’m looking forward to this show with my friends singing my songs, too!”
Tickets for the Mavis Staples 85th birthday concert will go on sale to the public on Friday, Feb. 16 at 10 a.m. PT at Ticketmaster. Staples’ friends, contemporaries, and collaborators previously got together to celebrate her 75th birthday with a concert that featured Gregg Allman, Widespread Panic, Bonnie Raitt, Aaron Neville, Emmylou Harris, Eric Church, and many more. A recording of the concert was released in 2017 as the live album Mavis Staples I’ll Take You There: An All-Star Concert Celebration.
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